Politics, Culture and the Media in South East Asia
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| MLAC2023 | 2 | 10 | Summer Malaysia |
- Code
- MLAC2023
- School
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 10
- Semesters
- Summer Malaysia
Summary
Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, but that growth is uneven between powerhouses like Singapore and the less advanced nations such as Laos and Burma. The political landscape is a mixture of authoritarian or centralised states such as Vietnam and Burma, and vibrant democracies like the Philippines and Indonesia. The programme approaches Southeast Asia from three perspectives: international relations, media studies and cultural politics. It offers a thorough grounding in the key issues affecting the region today.
Target Students
Students with an interest in Southeast Asia with its variety of political landscapes and how that influences international relations, media studies and cultural politics. There is a limited number of places on this module. Students are reminded that enrolments which are not agreed by the Offering School in advance may be cancelled without notice.
Classes
8 x 4 hour seminars
Assessment
- 100% Coursework 1: 1 x 2,500 word essay due approximately one month after completing the module
Educational Aims
This module aims to enable studentsto think about contemporary South East Asia and, specifically, to engage theoretically with the role of culture in social development and in the establishment and evolution of the postcolonial states.It will also enable students to enhance and develop a range of intellectual and transferable skills, in particular the evaluation of primary source material, as listed below.Learning Outcomes
A Knowledge and understanding
- Demonstrate a broad acquaintance with the changing historical relationships among political power, cultural production and everyday life South East Asia.
- Interpret the political meanings and significance of a range of key cultural texts in various genres
- Evaluate different responses to and interpretations of South East Asian cultural development
B Intellectual skills – the abilities required to process the subject matter
- Think critically and imaginatively about South East Asian cultural development
- Engage with key problems in the interpretation of cultural history
- Read and evaluate critically primary source documents in a range of genres
- Assess and evaluate a range of approaches to understanding cultural history
- Construct coherent and independent arguments on the subject matter
C Professional/practical skills – those skills specific to a particular subject area (option)
- Analyse information and arguments from a range of primary and secondary sources
- Use IT to complete written assignments
- Effective performance within a team environment, including leadership, team building, influencing and project management skills
- The ability to conduct research into issues, either individually or as part of a team.
D Transferable (key) skills – skills such as oral and written communication, team work, self management, problems solving, critical thinking, professionalism etc
- Manage large, incomplete and disparate bodies of knowledge
- Develop oral and written communication skills
- Work with other students on the module researching in primary and secondary source
- Take responsibility for their own learning
- Demonstrate IT skills in research and presentation